Hanuman stood in front of hundreds of OU freshmen college students at the Lloyd Noble Center's stage with nothing but fear in his heart.  He stood there wearing clothing that he would wear around his temples which made him stand out like a sore thumb.  The kids who sat in their chairs all looked towards him with their curious eyes which reminded him of himself.  Most of them had never even heard of Hanuman.  That thought kind of eased the tension a little bit since he did not have a name to live up to.  However, it also meant that he had no credibility with the students either and that is what really set his nerves on fire because he knew that this speech would probably be the most important speech he would give with nothing to back his words.  With the young students approaching the age where it becomes harder to leave a lasting impression, Hanuman knew this was his last chance to help shape the new generations.

Hanuman lightly turned his head to the side and covered his mouth as he cleared his throat with a soft cough.  "I would first off like to thank both the University of Oklahoma and their staff for having me here today to speak on such a momentous occasion for all of you students.  It is a great honor for me to be here.  Now I know I have bored all of you ladies and gentlemen out there with my traditional 'thank you' speech that everyone gives and for that I apologize to you.  It is a polite and customary thing to do, after all!" said Hanuman as he let out a small little chuckle knowing how formal he sounded.  He hated sounding formal even on formal occasions.

Hanuman then started to quickly pace back and forth on the stage as he pumped himself up.  "Heck!  When I was growing up, I was told that I had to look after a friend of mine, Sugriva.  I had no problem looking after him at all.  I loved him like a brother but I knew I had another purpose in life besides that and was always afraid to fulfill it."

One day Sugriva and I were walking outside and we noticed a man by the name of Rama looking for the love of his life.  She was taken hostage by an evil king named Ravana and Rama was determined to find her at all costs.  Sugriva and I saw Ravana carrying Rama's wife, Sita, off into the distance.  Rama asked us for our help but we could not.  Sugriva's older brother, Vali, had stolen Sugriva's wife and wanted nothing less than to see his younger brother pounded six feet under by his own fists!  That would have been an easy task for Vali if he could only find us.  Vali was easily the strongest man on Earth and not one person could match his strength.  In exchange for our help, Rama agreed to help us take down Vali if we would help him save Sita."

 

"To keep a long story short, Rama had vowed to Sugriva and me to help us defeat Vali once and for all so Sugriva can be with his wife.  We went out, and lured Vali into a fight.  Sugriva tried to talk sense into Vali to forgive any previous mistakes during his life, but Vali was too thick-headed to listen.  So when Sugriva met up with Vali, a fight took place that Sugriva could not win.  To save Sugriva, Rama intervened and pierced Vali's heart with an arrow!"  The audience started to look a little pale at this point but Hanuman continued, "Now, you all are saying that is ruthless.  Sugriva was a man of honor and valor and did not purposely harm Vali but Vali refused to listen to reason, wanted his brother dead by his own hands, and stole Sugriva's wife.  All of Vali's actions were unforgivable!  Even though Vali did some immoral things, Rama prayed for Vali and cleansed all his sins away so he could move on."

 

"That is the kind of man I wanted to be.  At that one moment in my life I knew what my real path was going to be.  I was going to fulfill my oath to its fullest and save Sita for Rama.  I was not going to let anything stand in my way!  Saving Sita was the right thing to do.  She was innocent in everything she was involved with but was still getting punished.  My new commitment was no longer to help just Sugriva, but to help Rama save his wife from an evil king.  I did help save her, even jumped across an ocean miles wide to save her, but what is a few miles to you when you've set your mind to accomplish something?"

 

"What I really wanted to say to all of you is this: Make a commitment that you can fulfill.  Make a commitment that fills your heart with happiness and joy.   Do not be afraid to try something new that you just experienced for fear of not being like your parents.  I chose my own path and I have prospered from that path for longer than you all can imagine and I still prosper from it now.  Good fortune to you all!" And that was all they saw of Hanuman as he walked down the stairs on the back of the stage out of view as a majority of people gave a standing ovation while a few sat down bored.